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Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions.
This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization.
Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

Increase In Deer Tick Population Sweeping Across Ohio

10tvnews.com

POWELL, Ohio - An insect expert was traveling the state to warn counties and veterinarians about an increase in deer ticks, 10TV's Kristyn Hartman reported on Monday.

Fifteen years ago, deer ticks were unheard of in Ohio. Now 26 counties, including Franklin and Delaware, are on the watch list The black legged deer tick, which can be as small as a poppy seed, can carry Lyme disease.

deer tick adult(large) and nymph(small)

If bites are diagnosed early, the illness can be easily treated with antibiotics. If missed, it can mean years of misery, Hartman reported.Paige Caulley said that she discovered that first hand.
"We think I was bit when I was really, really young," said Caulley, 27.Caulley grew up in Connecticut, where Lyme disease was more common. She said that she knew many classmates who had gotten the illness.The Powell resident said that she has suffered from health problems throughout her life but never associated them with Lyme disease.

mice and other small rodents and mammals are targets deer ticks

Caulley said that the problems grew worse after her daughter was born 18 months ago.
"I had a family doctor who just told me I need to start exercising. And that I need to see a therapist. And that it was all in my head. And I was in so much pain that I could barely walk," Caulley said.
Caulley looked to many doctors for help before finding a specialist in New York.Now, Caulley makes monthly trips to New York, takes a variety of pills and gives herself a daily intravenous drip of antibiotics. Her medical bills exceed $50,000.

Glen Needham, an entomologist at the Ohio State University, who works with the state health department, travels the state warning county health departments and veterinarians that ticks are on the march across Ohio."We've gone from what we believe were no counties with black legged ticks, to two counties, to 26 counties," he said.

note deer tick by the eye of this bird

Hunters brought deer heads to the state lab for tick checks. In one year, numbers ballooned from 29 ticks to 1,800, Hartman reported.

"Dogs will be kind of canary in the cave for us." Needham said. "So we think dogs may get Lyme Disease first in the state. And that may alert us to where some of these hot spots are," Needham said.
The infection is first identified by a bull's-eye rash that many people may not notice.

Those infected could have a few days of flu-like symptoms, then feel better. But the disease does not go away. It could spread into the heart, the joints, and the nervous system.

Caulley thought that is what happened to her. Now she faces four more months of an IV antibiotic and a struggle to feel well, but a struggle that she thought was worth it, Hartman reported.
"I'm like 50 percent better," Caulley said.

Needham says Lyme disease may be difficult to diagnose, because patients experience a variety of symptoms. To cut the risk of getting sick, he said people should spray skin and clothes with an insecticide containing DEET.

Two Massachusetts Eastern Coyotes at their den site

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Aldo Leopold--3 quotes from his SAN COUNTY ALMANAC

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Aldo Leopold

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

Aldo Leopold

''To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."

Wildlife Rendezvous

Like so many conscientious hunters and anglers come to realize, good habitat with our full suite of predators and prey make for healthy and productive living............Teddy Roosevelt depicted at a "WILDLIFE RENDEZVOUS"

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Blog Disclaimer

This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time…I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of my various thoughts and opinions, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those I may hold today. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Rick Meril and WWW.COYOTES-WOLVES-COUGARS.COM make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.